George Allan (antiquary)

George Allan (left) and William Hutchinson, 1814 engraving by Joseph Collyer the Younger.

George Allan (1736–1800) was an English antiquary and attorney at Darlington.

Life

Allan spent much of his youth in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, where he was educated at Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Wakefield. He became an assiduous collector of manuscripts.

Works

He was the author of several works relating to the history and antiquities of County Durham; he greatly aided William Hutchinson in his History and Antiquities of the County Palatine of Durham. He presented to the Society of Antiquaries of London 26 quarto volumes of a manuscript relating principally to the University of Oxford, which he extracted from the public libraries there. He possessed a printing press, with which he produced several works; among them was a reprint of Robert Hegg's 1626 work, Legend of St Cuthbert.

Family

Allan married Anne Nicholson, and they had six children. The eldest son George Allan served as Member of Parliament for Durham.

References

• Gibson, John Westby (1885), "Allan, George" , in Stephen, Leslie (ed.), Dictionary of National Biography, vol. 1, London: Smith, Elder & Co, pp. 294–295

Attribution:

• This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: Rose, Hugh James (1857). "Allan, George". A New General Biographical Dictionary. Vol. 1 AA–ANS. London: B. Fellowes et al. p. 340.